Original Item: Only One Available. This is every School boy's dream! A real Cowboy six gun! This great frontier-worn Colt SAA (Single Action Army) Revolver has a "gunfighter friendly" original short 4 ¾" barrel and lovely walnut grips. Originally blued at the factory, wear and cleaning have completely removed that finish, which is now a lovely bright polished steel, with a bit of past peppering visible. It also had the grip frame around the grip replaced with the grip with one from an earlier revolver.

The revolver's serial number is 109482, which dates production to 1884, while the serial number on the trigger guard and grip frame is 62403, produced in 1881. Most likely the grip and frame were damaged at some point, and it was easier to just swap them out for those from another revolver, which had other types of issues. This revolver was made after 1883, when Colt stopped marking the cylinders, which they did not do again until 1912. There is also assembly number 7201 marked on the loading gate. It is in full working order and condition, with a great patinated look, sure to delight any "Old West" Americana collector.

The revolver came to us with a photocopy of a very early Colt Factory letter from the office of the Colt Historian M. S. Huber. It is dated April 9, 1979, and so this is from well before the company offered this as a standard service, as well as before serial number dates could easily be looked up online. The letter indicates it is a COLT SINGLE ACTION ARMY REVOLVER, with the caliber listed as 45 and finish listed as Blue. The barrel is listed as 4-3/4 inches, and the stocks are Rubber, so this revolver is still mostly in the original configuration.

The gun was shipped on February July 8, 1884 as part of a shipment of 30 similar guns to the Simmons Hardware Company in St. Louis, Missouri. The dealer was a well-known retailer and hardware manufacturer founded in 1874, which at its peak had 6 locations. They often would buy up their suppliers to ensure the best quality merchandise, and purchased the Walden Knife company based in Walden New York. The company actually merged with Winchester Repeating Arms Co. in the early 20th century for a time.

The original double line address, correct for this length of barrel, is still mostly clear on the top of the barrel:

The left side of the frame has the Colt patent dates still mostly legible as well:

PAT. SEPT.19.1871.
 "  JULY.   2.  --72.
 "  JAN.   19. --75.

These are the early 2nd pattern markings, and this was made before the "Prancing Pony" logo began appearing on the frame. The markings are all relatively clear, so this revolver does not look to have been refurbished at any time, which would have worn down the markings during refinishing. The caliber marking 45 CAL is still present on the trigger guard, and we also have checked the cylinder and barrel with real cartridges to confirm. This revolver is definitely chambered for .45 Colt, also known as .45 "LONG" Colt, one of the most legendary handgun cartridges of the old west. When you hear people talk of a "Colt 45", this model gun is the reason why.

The revolver has the great worn look that only use in service can give. The grips are in fantastic shape, having been replaced at some point, possibly somewhat recently. Mechanically, the action is smooth, with a good cylinder lock up, and a strong mainspring. The action has all four clicks, and cycles correctly, however it does overshoot sometimes due to a worn and somewhat mis-timed cylinder lock. As with all revolvers of this age we recommend being very gentle with cycling it, so we do not recommend "fanning" or "fan firing". The bore is in good condition, showing worn lands and grooves, but also overall wear and oxidation from use. The ejector door swings open easily, and the ejector itself works great. Overall this is a lovely service used pistol!

Pistols such as this are extremely difficult to find today at any reasonable price. This honest worn example is just ideal for any Wild West Collection. A great collector's revolver, ready to display!

Specifications:

Year of Manufacture: 1884
Caliber: .45 "Long" Colt
Ammunition Type: Centerfire Cartridge
Barrel Length: 4 ¾ inches
Overall Length: 10 ¼ inches
Action: Single Action
Feed System: 6 Shot Revolver

History of the Colt Single Single Action Army

Bound by the Rollin White patent (#12,648, April 3, 1855) and not wanting to pay a royalty fee to Smith & Wesson, Colt could not begin development of bored-through revolver cylinders for metallic cartridge use until April 4, 1869. For the design, Colt turned to two of its best engineers: William Mason and Charles Brinckerhoff Richards who had developed a number of revolvers and black powder conversions for the company. Their effort was designed for the United States government service revolver trials of 1872 by Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company and adopted as the standard military service revolver. Production began in 1873 with the Single Action Army model 1873, also referred to as the "New Model Army Metallic Cartridge Revolving Pistol".

The very first production Single Action Army, serial number 1, thought lost for many years after its production, was found in a barn in Nashua, New Hampshire in the early 1900s. It was chambered in .45 Colt, a centerfire design containing charges of up to 40 grains (2.6 g) of fine-grained black powder and a 255-grain (16.5 g) blunt roundnosed bullet. Relative to period cartridges and most later handgun rounds, it was quite powerful in its full loading.

The Colt Single Action Army revolver, along with the 1870 and 1875 Smith & Wesson Model 3 "Schofield" revolver, replaced the Colt 1860 Army Percussion revolver. The Colt quickly gained favor over the S&W and remained the primary US military sidearm until 1892 when it was replaced by the .38 Long Colt caliber Colt Model 1892, a double-action revolver with swing-out cylinder. By the end of 1874, serial no. 16,000 was reached; 12,500 Colt Single Action Army revolvers chambered for the .45 Colt cartridge had entered service and the remaining revolvers were sold in the civilian market.

The Colt .45 is a famous piece of American history, known as "The Gun That Won the West". The Single Action army is a very popular firearm, even today, and it continues to be produced in various configurations.